TANGO in Buenos Aires

HEALTH: A STUDY BY MCGILL UNIVERSITY IN CANADA (article in Diario Clarín, Buenos Aires)

It is affirmed that dancing tango is as healthy as gymnastics. When doing it, physiological mechanisms are engaged to help prevent cardiac diseases and improve the mobility. This is necessary to avoid stumbles and falls in elder by people beyond 60 years of aye.

Eliana Galarza.

In a third study, of world-class level, tango is again in the news. But this is not because of its spectacular choreographies in faraway places, but because different medical studies indicate that it is a dance with therapeutic properties. It seems that while one “removes shavings from the dance floor” (Argentine metaphoric expression for dancing), physiological mechanisms are engaged that help to prevent cardiac diseases and improve mobility, which is so necessary for avoiding stumbles and falls in people over 60 years of age.

The most recent study was presented in the last world-wide meeting of the Society for Neurosciences and was made by McGill University, of Montreal, Canada. There, under the direction of Patricia McKinley, they studied 30 people between the ages of 68 and 91. The objective was clear: to see what happens to people of those ages (Argentineans say the third and the fourth ages in life) when receiving the stimulation offered by an energetic and sensual dance like tango.

The choice of the type of music was not accidental. A study made last year by the International Society of Cardiology revealed that dancing tango, salsa or merengue helps to diminish arterial pressure and to prevent the appearance of cardiac diseases. Their results were similar to those which had already been reached by Argentinean scientists of the Favaloro Foundation in 1999 (See below "A surprising investigation in Argentina"). For that reason, the Canadian university had no doubts when selecting which music ought to fill the atmosphere of the laboratories dedicated to this singular study.

The group that participated in the experiments of Doctor McKinley was divided into two parts. Half was assigned to dance tango; the rest only took long walks. In the report disseminated by the Canadian university, the investigator indicated the first difficulties that they had to face. "In the beginning, they danced a little stiffly, surprised by the physical contact; but by the third or fourth class, they loosened up and it was easier to carry out the measurements of the study," she commented.

After 10 weeks of daily sessions of dance, it was possible to observe a greater stimulation of the central nervous system and more cerebral activity in the people who had dedicated themselves to dancing tango. Those dancers of “senior category” had, in addition, a greater coordination and improvement in their sense of balance.

"Actually, any movement with music stimulates the brain. The act of coordinating arms and/or legs with a musical rhythm is very stimulating: it proposes an integral effort", indicates the psycho-geriatrist Haydeé Andrés, professor of Mental Health of the Faculty of Medicine of the UBA (Universidad de Buenos Aires). According to her, the choice was made to study the effects of tango because it is one of the few dances that forces the couple to merge in an embrace. "In former times, even fox-trot was danced embraced; nowadays the new generations do not practice that contact. The results of investigations of tango are foreseeable positive because the physical contacts, added to the consumption of energy, are stimulants that all people need," explained the psycho-geriatrist.

"It is true. The association of any type of dance with movement of the body is beneficial. And it is especially for mobility. For that reason it is good for elderly people; it helps them to have better control of their bodies. In addition, it is necessary to bear in mind that it is not the same to say to somebody: ‘you must exercise’ and send her/him to a fixed-bicycle, as it is to tell her/him, ‘look: go and embrace somebody and dance tango.’ Obviously (from every angle) it is something much more pleasant", emphasizes a doctor in kinesiology, Héctor Larrea, professor of Geriatric Rehabilitation of the Favaloro University.

"Also walking is not the same as running, nor is dancing waltz rather than tango or merengue. The stimulation of the central nervous system happens when the practice of the exercise is constant and energetic," added Hugo Alberto Schifis, General Secretary of the Argentine Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics.

A dancer has one of the most important keys for understanding why it is tango, and not another dance, that offers more benefits for our health. Vanina Bilous, of 34 flexible years, says that even for the professional dancers the matter of balance is the axis (the marrow) of all this history. "One can know how to dance but when it is tango you must learn everything again. Because it is not the same to dance alone as it is to dance with another one, in the joint rhythm that marks a couple. It is like walking: one can know how to walk singly but when one must walk next to somebody else, it is necessary to learn new things", says Bilous. Thus, knowing where to put the compass (rhythm) so that the other doesn’t stumble, and finding the balance helps you later to be better trained to avoid loose floor-tiles and falling down on slippery streets, for example.

One heart beating (paraphrasing Argentineans definition of a tango couple: “it is one heart with four legs”).

Eduardo San Pedro

If tango – as music and a dance more and more rooted here in Argentina, and in the rest of the world – lacks anything to turn it virtually into an essential discipline, it is the diffusion of the knowledge of its therapeutic virtues. The fact is that these virtues are not new: several medical studies already indicated that the regular practice of the dance of tango produces, in those who do not have cardiac history, a diminution of arterial pressure and cholesterol and aids in the loss of weight. Also dancing tango is an exercise that helps to fight against sedentary life and is an ally in the prevention of cardiovascular problems. It could be added that it is an ideal practice for those who do not like gymnasiums or taking long walks. The old tango continues being an excellent aid for the body and the soul. That’s without forgetting its proverbial sensual component.

A Surprising Investigation in Argentina.

For the Argentineans, tango dance was also a reason for scientific study. In 1999, the Favaloro Foundation made a study of 10 couples with an average age of 50 to learn what happened physiologically with the dancers while they were on the dance floor. The results, tested by cardiologist Roberto Peidro, were surprising. They demonstrated that dancing tango has values similar to those recommended to patients to prevent cardiac diseases. That is to say, it helps to decrease the cardiac frequency while resting and it increases the volume of blood that the heart expels in each beat. That way, the cardiac efficiency is greater spending less energy to work. In the circulatory system, in addition, it contributes to the reduction of arterial pressure, to increase the circulation between muscles and to diminish the formation of clots within the arteries. And all that helps nothing less than to prevent cerebral infarcts and thrombosis. How much dancing? Three times per week between 45 and 60 minutes. In other words, “to remove shavings from the floor as much as you can”, as we often say in Buenos Aires.

Source: www.clarin.com (diario Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina).

http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/12/07/sociedad/s-03601.htm

(*) The Argentine Doctor Renee Favaloro was the creator and developer of the famous technique “bypass” for heart surgery.